Hydrocarbons such as oil and gas found in various earth formations vary in form and require different methods of extraction. Oil and gas found in reservoirs or otherwise occurring having a low enough viscosity are extracted by drilling wells into the earth formation. More viscous occurrences of hydrocarbons, such as oil sands formations, require alternate techniques, such as steam assisted gravity drainage (“SAGD”) and surface mining.
Surface mining techniques involve extracting surface material above the tar sands formation, i.e., overburden, as well as the underlying tar sands. Various methods of extraction, such as shovel and truck operations, are employed to extract the bitumen feed stock and transport it to a processing location where crude oil is extracted from the bitumen.
The variability of the bitumen feed stock in surface mining operations poses considerable cost and production issues. Changes in composition affect the rate at which bitumen can be extracted and/or processed, and thus affect the rate and cost of oil production therefrom. In addition, drastic changes in composition can potentially cause breakdowns or failures, resulting in significant production losses and costs.